VOA慢速英语2015 一些活动家对泰国戒严法结束表示质疑

AS IT IS 2015-04-03 Activists¹ Question the End of Martial² Law in Thailand 一些活动家对泰国戒严法结束表示质疑

Thailand’s rulers announced this week that martial law had ended, with the support of the King. The rulers say martial law will be replaced by Article 44, a security law in the country’s temporary charter.

Legal experts and human rights defenders³ in Bangkok say the announcement is not a reason to celebrate. They are warning that the new law will widen and strengthen the powers of Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha.

The temporary charter replaced Thailand’s constitution following the government overthrow⁴ on May 22, 2014. Martial law was in effect for more then ten months.

Thailand's National Human Rights Commission says enacting⁵ Article 44 will give Prime Minister Prayuth  absolute power.

The U.N.’s High Commissioner⁶ for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, strongly criticized the move. He released a statement saying Prime Minister Prayuth could now “issue any legislative⁷, executive or judicial⁸ order.”

Rupert Colville is a U.N. Human Rights agency spokesman. He says the new rule is even worse than martial law.

“It’s really very worrying because it could lead to quite large-scale human rights violations⁹ with total impunity¹⁰ and gives quite extraordinary powers to even junior military officers in their dealings with civilians¹².”

Mr. Colville says the U.N. High Commissioner is also extremely concerned about the power the military now has in the reporting of news.

“They can also restrict the sale and distribution of books, publications, and on the very, very vague grounds, just a suggestion, that the book or the newspaper or whatever may create public fear or is intended to distort news and information. That is incredibly easy to abuse.”

Freedom to gather also remains¹³ highly restricted in Thailand. Protesters who gather in groups of more than five can face severe punishment.

A Thai government advisor¹⁴ on security issues says the U.N does not understand what Thailand did this week. He says the government established fourteen rules to lessen¹⁵ the power of martial law. He says he thinks the U.N. human rights agency missed that point.

Prime Minister Prayuth has promised to use his increased powers responsibly. He said those who have not done “anything wrong” have no need to be afraid. However, he strongly warned that “if there is any shooting and causing of chaos¹⁶ again, I will order arrests immediately.”

The U.N High Commissioner is calling on Thailand to honor international human rights law and return normal civilian¹¹ rule to the country. The agency statement noted¹⁷ that Thailand promised, right after the overthrow, to take that action.

Observers say Article 44 guarantees the military will have control of Thailand during a period of royal change expected in the near future. King Bhumibol is 87 years old and has been in poor health for years. His son, the Crown Prince, is not as well-liked as his father.

Words in This Story

martial law – n. control of an area by military forces rather than by the police

absolute – adj. complete and total

impunity – n. freedom from punishment, harm, or loss

chaos – n. complete confusion and disorder¹⁸: a state in which behavior and events are not controlled by anything

royal – adj. of or relating to a king or queen

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 martial   

adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的

参考例句：

• The sound of martial music is always inspiring.军乐声总是鼓舞人心的。
• The officer was convicted of desertion at a court martial.这名军官在军事法庭上被判犯了擅离职守罪。

3 defenders   

n.防御者( defender的名词复数 )；守卫者；保护者；辩护者

参考例句：

• The defenders were outnumbered and had to give in. 抵抗者寡不敌众，只能投降。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• After hard fighting,the defenders were still masters of the city. 守军经过奋战仍然控制着城市。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

5 enacting   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Generally these statutes apply only to wastes from reactors outside the enacting state. 总之，这些法令只适宜用在对付那些来自外州的核废料。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• In addition, the complexion of enacting standards for live working is described. 另外，介绍了带电作业标准的制订情况。

6 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

7 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

8 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

9 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

10 impunity   

n.(惩罚、损失、伤害等的)免除

参考例句：

• You will not escape with impunity.你不可能逃脱惩罚。
• The impunity what compulsory insurance sets does not include escapement.交强险规定的免责范围不包括逃逸。

11 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

12 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 advisor   

n.顾问，指导老师，劝告者

参考例句：

• They employed me as an advisor.他们聘请我当顾问。
• The professor is engaged as a technical advisor.这位教授被聘请为技术顾问。

15 lessen   

vt.减少，减轻；缩小

参考例句：

• Regular exercise can help to lessen the pain.经常运动有助于减轻痛感。
• They've made great effort to lessen the noise of planes.他们尽力减小飞机的噪音。

16 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。